Discernment: The Safeguard of Revival

Memory
Text: “Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O
LORD, according to Your lovingkindness. The entirety of Your word is
truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever”
(Psalm 119:159-160, NKJV).

Early in my ministry I studied with
a family in rural Tennessee. One day a large man walked into the room
smoking a big cigar. He then declared that the Lord had healed him from
lung cancer!

I have reflected upon this experience often. This man
sincerely believed that the Holy Spirit had miraculously healed him.
However, did his belief that he was healed make it true? Are signs and
wonders always evidence of the Holy Spirit’s working? Can we base our
faith on signs and wonders alone? What role might signs and wonders
have in a false revival?

In the context of revival, we need to ask, Is it possible that
the devil can create a false religious excitement and leave the
impression that a genuine revival has occurred?

This week we will study the spiritual indicators of genuine
revival and contrast them with the obvious signs of false ones. Knowing
the difference between the two will help to save us from the enemy’s
delusions.

Study this week’s lesson to
prepare for Sabbath, August 24.

SUNDAY
August 18

God’s Will and His Word

All true spirituality is focused on knowing God and doing His
will (John 17:3, Heb. 10:7).
Any so-called “revival” that focuses on
experience rather than commitment to obey God’s Word misses the mark
completely. The Holy Spirit will never lead us where God’s Word does
not. The Holy Spirit leads us into the Word (2 Tim. 3:15-16). The Word
of God is the foundation and heart of all true revival.

In Jesus’ sermon about the Bread of Life, He explained the
essence of all revival and the foundation of all spiritual life. He
declared, “‘It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits
nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life’”
(John 6:63, NKJV). Jesus’
statement is extremely significant. The Holy
Spirit, who is the source of all spiritual revival, speaks through
God’s Word in order to give to those who grasp it by faith a deep
spiritual life. Revival occurs when the Holy Spirit impresses Jesus’
words upon our minds. This is why the Savior said, “‘“Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
God”’” (Matt. 4:4, NKJV).

“In many of the revivals which have occurred during the last
half century, the same influences have been at work, to a greater or
less degree, that will be manifest in the more extensive movements of
the future. There is an emotional excitement, a mingling of the true
with the false, that is well adapted to mislead. Yet none need be
deceived. In the light of God’s word it is not difficult to determine
the nature of these movements. Wherever men neglect the testimony of
the Bible, turning away from those plain, soul-testing truths which
require self-denial and renunciation of the world, there we may be sure
that God’s blessing is not bestowed.”-Ellen G. White, The
Great
Controversy, p. 464.

The essence of true revival is
discovering God’s will as manifest in God’s Word. Jesus lived a life
filled with the Holy Spirit. From His birth to His death, He was led
and empowered by the Holy Spirit .

MONDAY
August 19

God’s Love and His Law

Revival is all about knowing Jesus. It is a reawakening of the
spiritual faculties of the soul. It is a personal and vital experience
with the Savior. Knowing Jesus-really knowing Him as a friend-is the
essence of all revival. From the depth of his personal experience with
Jesus, the apostle Paul shared that he is praying for the Ephesians to
“know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled
with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19, NKJV).

This is in contrast to the story of the end-time virgins, five
of whom had an outer form of godliness and religion but lacked an
intimate experience with Jesus. Referring to their great need, Jesus
said, “‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you’” (Matt. 25:12,
NKJV).

Knowing God always leads to obedience. God’s law reveals His
love. A deeper relationship with Christ leads to a greater desire to
please Christ. Obedience is the fruit of love. The more we love Him,
the more we will desire to obey Him. Any so-called revival that does
not emphasize repentance for the times that we have willfully broken
His law is suspect. Religious fervor may stimulate a temporary
religious high, but lasting spiritual change will be lacking.

In these passages John makes two crucial points. First,
knowing God leads to keeping His commandments. Second, loving God leads
to loving one another. John’s point is clear. Genuine spirituality
results in a changed life. The heart of revival is not a warm sensation
of feeling close to Jesus. It is a transformed life filled with the joy
of serving Jesus. God’s great goal in all revivals is to draw us closer
to Him, to deepen our surrender to His purpose for our lives, and to
release us for witness and ministry in His cause.

How are you in your own personal
relationships? What do those relationships tell you about your own walk
with the Lord? In what ways might you need to progress in both your
relationship with God and with others?

TUESDAY
August 20

Formalism, Fanaticism, and Faith

One of the challenges of true revival is breaking through the
icy surface of cold formalism, while at the same time avoiding the
fiery flames of fanaticism. Formalism is rigidly locked in the status
quo. It is satisfied with the external husks of religion while it
denies the living reality of faith. Fanaticism tends to go to extremes.
It goes off on religious tangents. It tends to be unbalanced, focusing
on one aspect of faith to the neglect of all others. Fanaticism is
often self-righteous and judgmental. The apostle Paul longed that the
Christian church “no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the
cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Eph. 4:14, NKJV).

What
do we learn about those who thought that signs and
wonders proved that they were Jesus’ faithful followers? Matt. 7:21-23.

The deeper issue in both of these experiences is the
commitment of the heart. Signs and wonders can never take the place of
authentic biblical faith. They are not a substitute for surrendering to
the will and Word of God. The essence of real revival is a faith so
deep that it leads to an obedient life committed to do God’s will. A
biblically based revival echoes John’s words, “For whatever is born of
God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the
world-our faith” (1 John 5:4, NKJV).

“What kind of faith is it that overcomes the world? It is that
faith which makes Christ your own personal Saviour-that faith which,
recognizing your helplessness, your utter inability to save yourself,
takes hold of the Helper who is mighty to save, as your only
hope.”-Ellen G. White, Reflecting
Christ, p. 21.

Which side do you tend to lean
toward: formalism and tradition, or more toward experience and
excitement? If, perhaps, you lean too much toward one side or the
other, how can you find the right balance?

WEDNESDAY August 21

Ministry and Miracles

False revivals often place their major emphasis on miracles.
Genuine revivals focus on ministry. False revivals emphasize
spectacular signs and wonders; genuine revivals recognize that the
greatest miracle is a changed life.

The healing miracles of Jesus testified to the fact that He
was the Messiah. As our compassionate Redeemer, the Savior was
concerned with alleviating human suffering. But He was even more
concerned with the salvation of everyone He touched with His healing
grace. The purpose of Jesus’ redemptive ministry was to “seek and save”
lost mankind (Luke 19:10).
Speaking to the religious leaders regarding
the paralytic, Jesus declared, “‘But that you may know that the Son of
Man has power on earth to forgive sins’”-then He said to the
paralytic, “‘Arise, take up your bed and go to your house’” (Matt. 9:6, NKJV). The crowd’s response to this miracle was to
glorify God
(Matt. 9:8).

Miracles were an outgrowth of Jesus’ redemptive ministry, but
they were not the main reason He came to earth.

These people are deceived by false miracles “because they did
not receive the love of the truth.” When the desire for the spectacular
is far more important than the desire for a new life in Christ, the
mind is open to deception. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus
concludes with Jesus’ insightful words, “‘But he said to him, “If they
do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded
though one rise from the dead.”’” (Luke 16:31, NKJV). In other words,
spectacular signs and marvelous wonders can never take the place of
understanding and then following God’s Word. Obedience to God is
primary; signs and wonders, if and when they come, are always only
secondary.

What kind of miracles have you
experienced in your own life, in your own walk with the Lord? What have
you learned from them? How important are they to your faith?

THURSDAY August 22

Fruits and Gifts

The gifts of the Holy Spirit might be divided into two large
categories: some gifts are qualities, other gifts are callings. For
example, the gifts of helps, hospitality, exhortation, and teaching are
qualities that God imparts to individual believers (Rom. 12:6-8). The
gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor/teachers are
callings given to individual believers (Eph. 4:11-12). Both categories
serve a similar purpose. They have been imparted by the Holy Spirit to
strengthen the spiritual life of the church and equip it for mission.
Spiritual gifts are not an end in themselves. They have been given by
God for the benefit of His church.

Any so-called revival that has little interest in the fruit of
the Spirit but is obsessed with possessing the gifts of the Spirit is
dangerous. If God gave the gifts of the Spirit in abundance to
believers who were not manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, the church
would become the center of selfish exhibitionism. For God to turn on
heaven’s power when the spiritual power lines are frayed would produce
only disastrous results. Beware of movements that concentrate on the
gifts and power of the Holy Spirit rather than on obedience to God’s
will and a transformed character that reveals the fruit of the Spirit.

What do you say to someone who
has experienced what he or she judges to be a supernatural
manifestation from God? How could you help him or her to know if it
truly were from God or from the other side? How does our understanding
of the reality of the great controversy help us when we seek to
understand who or what can be behind miracles?

FRIDAY
August 23

Further
Study: “The promise of the Spirit is not appreciated as it
should be. Its fulfillment is not realized as it might be. It is the
absence of the Spirit that makes the gospel ministry so powerless.
Learning, talents, eloquence, every natural or acquired endowment, may
be possessed; but without the presence of the Spirit of God, no heart
will be touched, no sinner be won to Christ. On the other hand, if they
are connected with Christ, if the gifts of the Spirit are theirs, the
poorest and most ignorant of His disciples will have a power that will
tell upon hearts. God makes them the channel for the outworking of the
highest influence in the universe.”-Ellen G. White, Christ’s
Object
Lessons, p. 328.

“The apostle’s earnest words of entreaty were not fruitless.
The Holy Spirit wrought with mighty power, and many whose feet had
wandered into strange paths, returned to their former faith in the
gospel. Henceforth they were steadfast in the liberty wherewith Christ
had made them free. In their lives were revealed the fruits of the
Spirit-‘love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance.’ The name of God was glorified, and many were
added to the number of believers throughout that region.”-Ellen G.
White, The Acts of the Apostles,
p. 388.

Discussion Questions:

Dwell more on the contrast between cold formalism and
unbridled fanaticism. Or, are they always in contrast? That is, could a
church be fanatical and coldly formal at the same time? If so, how
might that be made manifest? Why would either extreme, or both, be
detrimental to revival and reformation? What about your own local
church? Where does it stand in this area? How could you help it to find
the right balance?

What evidence, if any, can we see of false revivals going
on in the world? How can we know that they are false? On the other
hand, would it be wrong to believe that God is working a revival among
those who, though loving the Lord, don’t know the things that we do?

In class, go over your answer to Thursday’s question
regarding someone who thinks that he or she has had a supernatural
experience with God. What can you learn from each other’s answers?

Inside
Story~
European Division:
Bulgaria

Mila’s
Prayers Bulgaria

Mila [MEE-lah] is 6 years old, but already she’s a prayer
warrior. She prays for people until God answers.

One day at school Mila saw her teachers outside during their
break smoking cigarettes. Mila knows that smoking is dangerous, so
right there she prayed for them. “Dear Jesus,” she said, “please help
my teachers know that smoking is bad for them. Help them to stop
smoking before it makes them sick. Amen.”

That evening when Father arrived home, he saw Mila sitting on
the couch with her head bowed. He wondered if something was wrong. He
touched her and asked if she was OK. Mila looked up and said, “I’m
fine. I’m just praying for my teachers. They smoke and I don’t want
them to get sick.”

Daddy knew about Mila’s prayer ministry. He sat down beside
her and asked, “Would you pray for a woman at work? She smokes too.”
Mila smiled and bowed her head. She prayed for Daddy’s friend at work
and for her teachers. Mila kept praying for her teachers and her
father’s friend every day.

Several weeks later, Daddy came home from work and told Mila
that his friend at work had stopped smoking. The woman told him that
one day she had suddenly lost her desire to smoke and hadn’t smoked
again. Daddy knew that the woman had tried to stop smoking many times
before, but she had failed.

“What day did you stop smoking?” he asked. The woman thought
for a minute and then told him the date. “That was the day after my
daughter started praying for you,” he said. Daddy told the woman that
Mila had been praying that she would stop smoking. She was surprised
that a child’s prayer could help her stop smoking when nothing else
could.

“My teachers still smoke,” Mila said. “And I’m still praying
for them. Sometimes I tell them that smoking is bad for them and that
I’m concerned about them. I’ve told them that I’m praying for them. My
teacher says that she wants to stop smoking,” Mila added. “I’m sure God
will answer my prayers.”

God answers our prayers, but he never forces someone to do
something against their wishes. When we pray for others, God works in
their hearts and in ours to answer those prayers. When we pray that
people will meet God and accept Jesus’ love, we must be willing to help
make that happen if God calls us.

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Christ, no matter where they are. Thank you for giving so that others
can meet God.